To begin let us define the actual definition that I am working with here so we are on the same page. This cost center planning design means very simply that a cost center will be associated with one company code and all entries to that cost center whether by FI or by assessments or distributions will always remain associated with that company code and only cost centers associated with that company code....fair enough? Long winded yes but fair enough.
Now when translated to BPC what is a cost center? Some might say it is an entity. Can it really be an entity? Sure it can be but is that best? Should a cost center entity dimension have hierarchy that rolls up to company codes? Sure. In this design that is the way you can go. Whether even in this structure where a company code and cost center are joined at the hip it is truly best to have a single entity dimension where cost centers roll up to company codes in a hierarchy is not the purpose of this article. The purpose is to explore options that would work and any benefits of a particular design.
Some companies have cost centers associated with a company code that is say a USD company code. But the cost centers are in different countries and the cost center planners like to manage those cost center plans etc in a native currency like the Aussie Dollar or Canadian Dollar or Mexican Peso. Having cost centers as an entity in a cost center planning app could allow multiple cost centers associated with one company code to be managed in any number of different currencies thereby allowing the rate app to function properly in translation of many currencies to the company code currency. ( proper rate app design assumed )
This is simple enough and with a design that only allows a cost center to be associated with a single company code this will work, but is it a good design? It could be, but ultimately it is likely that the cost center planning application is one of a few applications that subdivide expense management that will need to be PUSHED to a financial reporting application. What am I saying here? A couple of things.
In Input Template design even where there is a hierarchy roll-up, do not forget your properties! If you set a property on the cost center dimension to Company Code, the input template can be created to recognize that and submit data establishing also the dimension for Company Code in the app. While the Company Code dimension in this app would not be an entity dimension if you want currency flexibility in simpler designs, having this dimension member set in the fact data will allow for relatively easy application push renaming the dimension for company code to the name used in the financial application. There are some choices for easy management of a dimension for company code used in cost center planning that does not require you to create a user dimension. Try the inter company dimension on for starters and see if you can leverage that.
Remember now, we are not saying what is good or bad, just what is necessary under some general conversations you will find with clients in the field.
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